More Than A Monster
by Fishtastic
Summary: General Hux and his wandering thoughts about Kylo Ren Leonardo
Kylo Ren had been reduced to nothing more than the frail man in the mask that he was. Though he was an incredibly powerful leader, and one of the

more savage knights since Darth Vader's demise long ago, Ren was simply a man who had fallen into the clutches of Snoke and the First Order. Even

as General of such an organisation, it is clear to see without his mask that Ren did not fit in with the rest of us; he had the look in his eyes of a

broken man who had made a bad mistake.

He was meant for something better than this.

It was his movements and actions whenever he met with Snoke, and I caught a glimpse of him trembling beneath his armour, that led me to believe

in his secret fragility, because deep down he know what he's got himself into wasn't the right path for him. Sometimes he would even speak to me

freely about how powerful Snoke was in comparison to him, or how much he felt he needed to train in order to become as powerful as his

grandfather. He trusted me and I trusted him.

Ren had put a lot of faith in my soldiers and my established command, so I treated him with respect in turn. Even so, I was sure that Kylo was not

destined to be a man determined to rule the galaxy with the power of the Force, of which everyone knew he was perfectly capable. However, most

believed in him as the next Vader, which he had been taught to believe from Snoke's training and seduction to the Dark Side. The mask disguised

him as a monster he definitely was not, but what Snoke had lead him to believe to be. Kyle was gentle when he spoke to me without the mask...

Without the use of the Force or his weapons.

Those below Kylo in command shook before him, terrified of his confidence in finishing what Darth Vader started, without mercy or thought to

anyone who stood in his way.

But I knew he was not completely merciless.

He spoke to me softly and carefully, as though I was the only person he could act truthfully around, which was strange due to my bad temper, and

admittedly arrogant behaviour. I believe Kylo felt he could speak to me because of our mutual respect and similar line of work.

The first moment I laid eyes on Kylo without his mask, I grew my respect for the simple looking young man, with dark eyes and hair, contrasting to

his pale skin that stood out incredibly against his black attire. I also saw the red shine of his lightsaber reflect in those dark eyes, and I saw the slight

regret he felt using such a weapon. I knew there was goodness in that man, unlike myself.

In the later years of knowing each other in the First Order, we had taken to using, 'Hux', and, 'Ren', without our ranking, and sharing talks when no

one else was around. After particularly bad meetings with Snoke, Kylo would storm away to find a quiet place aboard the ship, where I could follow

close behind and make sure he didn't break something that was too important. Moments such as those were not necessarily as comfort, but it helped

Kylo calm down if I was there to speak to or listen to the issues he was facing.

Strangely enough, it was after quite an excruciating talk with Snoke that Kylo retreated to one of the control rooms, where he leant over the panel,

breathing heavily and trying to, 'keep his cool,' his hands tangled in his messy black hair, mask thrown to one side of the room, and his eyes tightly

closed. I was stood quietly in the corner, hat tipped over my own eyes with my arms folded, waiting patiently for his stress levels to decrease so we

could make our way back to the main command deck. This time was different, however, Kylo hadn't let out his anger on the panel yet, and the room

was uncomfortably quiet apart from Kylo's strained breathing.

I noticed a sudden shift in Kylo's movement as he silently strode over to me, pushing up my hat, crashing his lips onto mine so quickly that it was

over before I realised he had kissed me. Then we exited the room and went about the rest of the day as though nothing different had happened.

Except now I saw him as more than the fragile man in the mask, pretending to be a sinful monster.

I saw him as a human being.


End file.
